The family of the Royston man killed in a traffic collision with a fire engine last week have paid tribute to a much-loved grandfather and dedicated school governor.

Mitchell Bailey was killed on Wednesday, January 18, when a fire engine responding to a 999 call left the road, landing on its side in Burns Road, Royston.

Mitchell, aged 58, was born and raised in Hackney, London, and was the second of five children.

Mitchell Bailey

He trained as an electrician at college during his late teens before moving to Royston with his family when he was 21.

In 1985, he started working at Johnson Matthey and enjoyed more than 30 years with the company before retiring in 2016.

In the same year he started work at Johnson Matthey, he married his wife Carol who he had met through his sister Tracey.

“It turned out that we lived just round the corner from each other when we were growing up in London but never met,” said Carol, aged 51.

The couple shared their first date at the local cinema in Royston and when it closed down several years later, Mitchell recreated the occasion by purchasing a row of the cinema chairs and setting them up at home.

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Alyce, who recently got engaged, added: “He was also really good at numbers; he could remember all our national insurance cards off by heart! And if you ever had a DIY problem, he would come and fix it straight away.”

Mitchell was well-known in the local community through working at Johnson Matthey, regular trips to the town and his role as a governor at Roman Way Primary School, a position he held for around 15 years.

Carol said: “He used to go in and help with the reading while George was a pupil. He felt he could do something more for the school between his shifts at work so he became a parent governor and later went on to become the chair of governors.

“We never realised just how much he helped the school, he wasn’t one for seeking praise.”

Outside of work and his duties as a school governor, Mitchell’s hobbies included golf, football and photography.

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''He was an avid Spurs fan attending his first game on September 21, 1968, where he saw Spurs beat Nottingham Forrest 2-1''.

George said: “He’d take thousands of photos and then show them all to us. There were often hundreds of photos of the same thing but he loved taking them.

“We’d often lose him when we went out somewhere as he’d be stopping to take photos all the time.”

Mitchell and Carol would also regularly attend shows with their four dogs – three Boxers and a Boston Terrier.

“That was something that we always did together and loved doing,” said Carol.

Mitchell, who recently excelled at a super recogniser test he saw advertised online, was also a keen baker.

Alyce said: “He loved baking; his favourite was lemon drizzle cake. He used to call himself ‘Mitchy Berry’ and would always ask us to give him a mark out of ten when he cooked! He loved having us all round for dinner.”

George added: “He would go to a lot of effort when it came to food. He wouldn’t just make a quick sandwich for you; he would cook a whole steak and make proper steak sandwiches and everything would be presented perfectly.”

The family also enjoyed several holidays together, their favourite of which was a trip to Florida in 2009, as they “laughed constantly for two weeks”.

Charlotte said: “We always tried to regularly do something as a family. Dad loved it when everyone was together.”

Carol said: “Mitchell was just a really good man and had a great sense of humour. He was selfless and always put others first. He loved his family and also had lots of friends; we could go to the other side of the world and he’d end up seeing someone he knew!”

Mitchell’s funeral will be held at Cambridge Crematorium, at noon on Thursday, February 2.